PULLMAN — As Washington State heads into the final week of the regular season, trying to make up for this two-game losing streak, its defense will be under a microscope it hasn’t experienced in some time.
That’s because, among other reasons, WSU’s 41-38 loss to Oregon State on Saturday night read more like a list of superlatives than a close football game. That’s still an apt description — Cougar receiver Kyle Williams’ late fumble turned possession over to the Beavers, who took the lead with a long field goal with less than 30 seconds to go — but WSU only found itself in such a position because its defense was rushed past too many times to count.
Snapping a five-game losing streak, the Beavers’ 41 points were their most all season, more than their scoring outputs in their three previous games combined.
They enjoyed that scoring outing merely a week after getting shut out in a blowout loss to Air Force, and that preceded a 13-point showing in a setback to San Jose State. Their quarterback situation was in flux, and their offense suffered.
None of it seemed to matter against WSU defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding’s unit, which has now surrendered these point totals in its last three contests: 28 in a win over Utah State (seven coming with the game out of reach), 38 in a loss to New Mexico and now 41 in a loss to Oregon State.
The Cougars (8-3) have vowed to make the proper adjustments after each game — yet the same problems continue to bite them.
“They were just so far ahead of us in fourth downs. I think they kept the chains moving,” said WSU coach Jake Dickert, whose team allowed OSU to convert on 4 of 5 chances on fourth down. “We were never able to get that one stop…. They were ahead of us on third down. I thought we did a good job stopping their run game. They came out with (Gabarri Johnson, quarterback) and ran the same New Mexico play as last week. It’s what we thought they were gonna do.”
In Saturday’s game, Oregon State dinged Washington State’s defense for 15 big plays, which are gains of 15-plus yards.
The Beavers had come close to that mark a few times prior: 17 in a romp over Purdue, which will likely finish the season with one win, and 15 each in a win over FCS Idaho State and a loss earlier this month to SJSU.
That’s the long way of saying OSU had its way with WSU’s defense, which permitted 314 passing yards to a Beaver offense that has scuffled all year with their quarterback situation so unstable. More interesting, though, might be how Oregon State did it. They returned to the same well of plays to dismantle the Cougars’ defense, same as New Mexico did to WSU the week prior.
It became clear early on that because of WSU’s communication issues on defense, Oregon State could exploit that weakness by getting receivers in motion and running crossing routes over the middle, confusing the Coug defenders and clogging up coverage lanes. Here’s a completion from OSU QB Ben Gulbranson to Trent Walker, who came open over the middle after going in motion. He’s seemingly guarded by safety Jackson Lataimua, but if he passes Walker off to a teammate, it’s unclear who.
For the game, Beavers receiver Trent Walker totaled 12 catches for 136 yards, his career-high for single-game receptions. His 6-foot-2 size and speed were too much for the Cougars — no matter who was covering him, but especially when he found mismatches.
That’s what happened on perhaps the biggest play of the game. With a minute to play in the fourth quarter facing a fourth-and-6 from the WSU 45, the Beavers decided to go for it. Walker came in motion like he did on several occasions in this one, and against WSU sophomore edge rusher Isaac Terrell, he made the catch for a first down.
It prompts a question: How does Terrell, still establishing himself in the Cougs’ edge corps, end up in coverage against Oregon State’s top receiver?
“It’s a simulated pressure, Cover 2,” Dickert said. “Anticipating the mesh routes, what they’ve been doing all games. We do a lot of that stuff in a bunch of different situations. Pressure didn’t hit, and he escaped out the back door, and that’s the way it looked.”
On that play, the Cougs actually did well to communicate. Terrell faked a blitz and dropped back in coverage — where he had allowed one reception on three targets coming into Saturday’s game — but he picked up Walker as he came streaking across the middle of the field. He made the catch, and that’s a tough ask of Terrell, who is an edge for a reason.
Part of the other problem for WSU involved its pass rush or lack thereof. For the game, the Cougs totaled 15 pressures, but no sacks, per Pro Football Focus.
It’s Washington State’s second straight game without recording a sack, and the Cougars have collected just one in their past three games. It’s clear they can’t get much meaningful pressure with only four linemen, even with David Gusta’s effectiveness on the interior.
That issue fueled several other key plays for Oregon State. In the second quarter, to set up an eventual touchdown, OSU converted a third-and-13. Beavers quarterback Ben Gulbranson didn’t face much pressure, and compounding things for the Cougs, their cornerbacks were playing well off the Beaver receivers. On this play, Walker didn’t have to do much more than turn around and haul it in.
The Cougars’ lack of pass rush cost them several other times. Consider this play late in the second quarter, also to set up a touchdown, where Gulbranson went deep to Walker. Gulbranson had plenty of time, and after he made the catch, Walker broke a tackle on Lataimua. The Cougs missed 15 tackles in this one, which speaks to their troubles with mobile quarterbacks — which could be its own story.
WSU must find ways to remedy these issues. Otherwise, even as two-win Wyoming comes to town, the Cougs face the possibility of ending their regular season on a three-game skid.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
